Chennai honours its cleanliness champions

CHENNAI: More than 5,500 corporation workers — including conservancy staff and malaria workers — were presented medals and served food on Tuesday.

The ceremonies, held across three zones, marked the first day of Daan Utsav, a weeklong festival aimed at spreading the joy of giving.

Workers from Anna Nagar, Adyar and Ambattur were honoured at nine locations in these three zones. The medal ceremony was followed by lunch, music and entertainment which left smiles on the faces of corporation workers .

The event was organized by Eco Kitchen, a city-based NGO. “The idea came from three senior volunteers. We wanted to recognize and honour these people who work every day to keep our streets and city clean but are never acknowledged,” said Sethu Lakshmi, programme manager, Eco Kitchen. Lakshmi said donations from corporate companies and individuals were used to buy the meals.

After handing over the medals, residents and other participants took a pledge to keep the city clean and reduce the burden on conservancy workers. Aarti M, a volunteer with Daan Utsav, said honouring the workers who toil was an apt way of beginning the first day of the 10th edition of the festival.

“While this was just a beginning to honour these cleanliness champions in three zones, it will be done further in other zones so that all workers are honoured,” Aarti said.

In one of the locations, noted Carnatic vocalist Sudha Raghunathan handed over medals to the workers. A corporation official said the ceremony was fitting as these workers toil for days without break and during festivals they work harder as the city generates more waste than on usual days.